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Newscasts

PNS Daily Newscast - February 22, 2018

President Trump holds a listening session at the White House as the demand for action to curb gun violence spreads across the nation; also on today's rundown; an Arizona ballot initiative would require 50 percent renewable energy by the year 2030; and a new report find local democracy is being "run-over" by Lyft and Uber.

Daily Newscasts

2018 NC Child Report Card Shows Mixed Bag for Kids

Opponents of Religious Exemption Carry Children's Coffins to Capitol

Report: Arkansas Children Face High Rate of Adverse Experiences

After-School, Summer Programs Eliminated in Trump Budget

School Shooting Survivors Demand Stricter Gun Control at FL Capitol

2018 NC Child Report Card Shows Mixed Bag for Kids

Opponents Warn Offshore-Drilling Announcement is Sign of What's to Come

Dr. Mary Aitken, director of the Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital, says state officials and other advocates have worked in recent years to teach new parents the ABCs of putting infants down to sleep – alone, on their backs and in a crib.

"They expanded their definition of a safe sleep environment to include having not just the baby be on its back, but also having the baby be alone, not sleeping in an adult bed,” she points out. “They recommended instead that the baby sleep in its own bassinet or crib."

Aitken says the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that babies sleep without blankets, stuffed animals or other objects in their crib that could cause them to suffocate.

She says sometimes well-meaning adults or grandparents give young parents outdated or improper advice on the best way for an infant to sleep.

Aitken adds that it often seems counter intuitive to new parents to put their infants in a crib by themselves when there is a warm, inviting bed for them to sleep in.

"There's a lot of information out there that goes against this,” she points out. “You see advertising with a big, decked-out bed with lots of cushions and things in the bed to make it attractive, but the rule to be safest for the baby is to decorate the room, not the crib."

Aitken adds that often, low-income families don't have the information or the resources to provide a safe sleeping situation.

"We're always looking for a way to make sure that parents have the information they need so they are educated about what the best practices that we understand now are – and that if there are barriers, that there are resources in communities to get them a safe place to put their baby," she states.

The study also tracks several other causes of death among Arkansas children, including medical conditions, injuries, vehicle accidents, drownings, guns and fires.